Regional website for CNPA Asheville

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CNPA-Asheville Region Home Page

Welcome!

Western North Carolina is a land of superlatives of Nature, containing many of the exemplary natural features in the eastern United States. The tallest mountains, the deepest canyons, the highest waterfalls, the sheerest cliffs, the tallest trees, and the most concentrated botanical diversity in the East are a few of its superlative features. The Appalachian Mountains are the oldest mountains in the world, and the eons and elements have sculpted grand visions in their stony ridgelines. Their weathered visage belies the rugged, dramatic canyons and gorges within them. The eroded soils enrich the myriad of plants that have taken seed and root, producing a variety of flora that is more exhaustive than all of Europe. Entire ecosystems have developed in the forests and glades, supporting a myriad of fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals.

The GOAL of the Asheville region of CNPA is develop a group which will more fully experience the beauty of this exemplary natural area through photography and promote an appreciation of our natural gifts and treasures. We achieve these goals through several activities:

Monthly meetings for networking with fellow members, professional speakers, and others.

Orion is the most easily recognized constellation in the winter sky and includes some of the brightest stars. In late December, it rises just south of east in early evening. Conveniently, Lake Lure is also aligned just south of due east. We’ll meet about 7 pm in Morse Park. From the Marina, walk along the path, past the little pond, then left along the shoreline toward where the Rocky Broad enters the lake. There’s a direct line of sight looking east. Before or after Orion-Rise, we could shoot north over Rumbling Bald, or South-West over Chimney Rock. There are also some Non-Nature reflections in the Marina and the boardwalk along the lake-shore.

No limit, but sign-up is strongly recommended. If the weather does not cooperate, we’ll reschedule for Thursday, Dec 29. I’m not sure of the ideal time for good reflections. Orion will be above the horizon by 6:30, but may be too low to photograph reflections until later. If I have a opportunity to scout this a few nights in advance, I will provide more info those who sign-up.

Carpool arrangements:

Asheville area carpoolers will DEPART at 6:15 from the Ingles at 225 Charlotte Hwy (aka US-74A). Park to the right as you enter the parking lot. This store is 1.7 miles east of exit 53A on I-40. Coming from Asheville, take I-240 East to US-74A. From this Ingles, the drive time to Lake Lure will be about 40-45 minutes. If you sign-up, let me know if you plan to carpool.

Tips: Dress Warmly – warmer than you think necessary. Hot thermos? Bring a small flashlight, of course, but be respectful of your friends’ dark-adaptation. If you routinely shoot only JPGs, consider shooting RAW, or RAW + JPG, for night shots. You can enhance contrast and control camera noise more easily with RAW images. I routinely shoot 20-30sec @f4, then vary the ISO. Longer exposures usually cause noticeable star streaks. I use the Noise Reduction setting on my Nikon (read your manual). Reduce your monitor brightness, if possible. There will be distant lights that you can use for auto-focus, then switch to manual focus. Do not assume your lens will be in focus when rotated to infinity, and do not assume your zoom lens will stay in focus if you change focal length.